This invention relates generally to an apparatus capable of laying wire, and, more particularly, to an apparatus which is capable of inexpensively laying and burying wire or cable underground.
With the increased use of communication and electrical power transmission systems, the use of wire or cable in order to interconnect a plurality of supply and receiving stations has also drastically increased. For example, in the United States, more than 200,000,000 circuit miles of cable provide the path by which any one of a 120,000,000 telephones can be linked to any other. Although the instrument most commonly connected to a cable is the telephone set; typewriters, television cameras, and other types of data sets all convert information into electrical signals that can be sent over cables or wires.
Although this cable is generally placed aerially or underground in ducts, it may, in many instances, be directly buried in the earth. Such types of buried wire or cable not only find use in military environments, but also in any situation in which it is desirable to interconnect various types of communication or power supply systems where it is impractical to either place these wires aerially or underground in ducts.
Since the waterproofing capability of cables and wires has drastically improved through the years, buried wires have proven to be a practical means of transmitting data. By burying wire or cable undergrond, the chance of such wires being disturbed or disrupted by external means is substantially reduced. For example, buried wires are incapable of being run over by vehicles passing thereover or being broken or ripped during violent weather conditions. Furthermore, during military use the burying of wire prevents such wire or cable from being viewed by the enemy.
Unfortunately, heretofore, the laying and burying of wire and cable has been done either by manually in a very tedious and time consuming procedure, or by the utilization of self-propelled vehicles which not only plow the earth but implant the wire or cables therebeneath. Such vehicles, however, are extremely expensive and, in most instances, make the entire cost of laying wire underground prohibitive. It would therefore be extremely desirous if an apparatus could be developed which would make the laying and burying of wire or cable extremely simple, reliable and cost efficient.